Sexual Activity Between Underaged Step-Siblings

My question involves juvenile law in the State of: Kentucky

14 year old daughter has been involved in sexual relations with 16 year old stepbrother at her father's home.

Based on the text messages and conversations I've seen, the 16 year old has essentially peer pressured her into the behavior. I HAVE filed and been granted an ex parte /no contact order and we have a court date coming up in family court.

** My question is this: Do we have standing to file criminal charges against the 16 year old in juvenile court?**

Thank you in advance.

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Quoting FrustratedMomof4

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My question involves juvenile law in the State of: Kentucky

14 year old daughter has been involved in sexual relations with 16 year old stepbrother at her father's home.

Based on the text messages and conversations I've seen, the 16 year old has essentially peer pressured her into the behavior. I HAVE filed and been granted an ex parte /no contact order and we have a court date coming up in family court.

** My question is this: Do we have standing to file criminal charges against the 16 year old in juvenile court?**

Thank you in advance.

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you don't file criminal charges. You file a report of a suspected crime with the police and they take it from there.

Let me rephrase. I realize I cannot file the charges. What I can do is ask that they do, based on what happened.

Would it even be worth it for us to make a visit to the office that takes these reports and makes that determination?

My daughter is very hesitant to go through this. She is terrified people will find out since it's a small town, and does not want to even make a statement to the police if they're just going to tell her there's nothing they can do anyway.

In my searches, I have been unable to find any information on this when both parties are minors.

Bear in mind that your daughter can also be prosecuted; apparently in Kentucky it's not unheard of (though I'd imagine it's rather uncommon) for both minors to be cited.

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Quoting FrustratedMomof4

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My question involves juvenile law in the State of: Kentucky

14 year old daughter has been involved in sexual relations with 16 year old stepbrother at her father's home.

Based on the text messages and conversations I've seen, the 16 year old has essentially peer pressured her into the behavior. I HAVE filed and been granted an ex parte /no contact order and we have a court date coming up in family court.

** My question is this: Do we have standing to file criminal charges against the 16 year old in juvenile court?**

Thank you in advance.

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I would like to mention that what happened is NOT incest. There is no blood relationship between the two teens so it cannot be incest. I certainly understand you being angry that your 14 year old has already had sexual relations, but putting your daughter through the trauma of a criminal trial might be overkill at this point.

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Quoting Dogmatique

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Bear in mind that your daughter can also be prosecuted; apparently in Kentucky it's not unheard of (though I'd imagine it's rather uncommon) for both minors to be cited.

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Actually, after reviewing the Kentucky statutes regarding sexual offenses, I do not think either child may be prosecuted for any criminal sexual offense just based on the age of either child. First, Kentucky’s age of consent is 16. Since the boy is 16, she could not have committed statutory rape against him. Second, like a number of other states, Kentucky has a close in age exemption (what is commonly called a “Romeo and Juliet” exception) to its statutory rape laws. Very generally, in Kentucky is not a crime for a person to have consensual sexual relations with a 14 year-old so long as that person is under age 18. KRS § 510.050. So, the boy being age 16 would fall into the Romeo and Juliet exception and would not be guilty of a statutory rape offense. Similar Romeo and Juliet exceptions are found in the lesser crimes of sexual abuse in Kentucky, too. See KRS §§ 510.110 and 510.120. Finally, as llworking points out, this is not a crime of incest because a step-brother is not a blood relative. KRS § 530.020.

The OP may, of course, report this to the law enforcement agency where the sexual activity took place and let the police and prosecutor sort out whether any crime has occurred. A person reporting a suspected crime doesn’t have to research the law and ensure there was a violation before making such a report. It’s the prosecutor’s job to know the law and sort out whether any crime occurred. But just from the facts presented here I do not see that any crime was committed. That does not mean the parents do not have a right to be upset at what happened. But not everything that is objectionable or morally wrong is illegal. Also, we don’t have all the facts here of what occurred. It may be that some undisclosed fact would make a difference.

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Quoting Taxing Matters

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Actually, after reviewing the Kentucky statutes regarding sexual offenses, I do not think either child may be prosecuted for any criminal sexual offense just based on the age of either child. First, Kentucky’s age of consent is 16. Since the boy is 16, she could not have committed statutory rape against him. Second, like a number of other states, Kentucky has a close in age exemption (what is commonly called a “Romeo and Juliet” exception) to its statutory rape laws. Very generally, in Kentucky is not a crime for a person to have consensual sexual relations with a 14 year-old so long as that person is under age 18. KRS § 510.050. So, the boy being age 16 would fall into the Romeo and Juliet exception and would not be guilty of a statutory rape offense. Similar Romeo and Juliet exceptions are found in the lesser crimes of sexual abuse in Kentucky, too. See KRS §§ 510.110 and 510.120. Finally, as llworking points out, this is not a crime of incest because a step-brother is not a blood relative. KRS § 530.020.

The OP may, of course, report this to the law enforcement agency where the sexual activity took place and let the police and prosecutor sort out whether any crime has occurred. A person reporting a suspected crime doesn’t have to research the law and ensure there was a violation before making such a report. It’s the prosecutor’s job to know the law and sort out whether any crime occurred. But just from the facts presented here I do not see that any crime was committed. That does not mean the parents do not have a right to be upset at what happened. But not everything that is objectionable or morally wrong is illegal. Also, we don’t have all the facts here of what occurred. It may be that some undisclosed fact would make a difference.

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Then a very commonly use website needs to update its info, since it states clearly that Kentucky does NOT actually have a Romeo & Juliet law. However, I'll be sure to update my sources (your Justia link didn't work for me, though).

I love Kentucky. Great fried chicken.

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Quoting Dogmatique

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Then a very commonly use website needs to update its info, since it states clearly that Kentucky does NOT actually have a Romeo & Juliet law. However, I'll be sure to update my sources (your Justia link didn't work for me, though).

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I’ve noticed disparities in info on various age of consent sites where the information was either out-dated, incomplete, or just wrong. So I look to the actual statutes to see what the deal is. I wish there was a truly authoritative site with this information on it that is kept current but so far I’ve not found one that I trust.

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Quoting Taxing Matters

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I’ve noticed disparities in info on various age of consent sites where the information was either out-dated, incomplete, or just wrong. So I look to the actual statutes to see what the deal is. I wish there was a truly authoritative site with this information on it that is kept current but so far I’ve not found one that I trust.

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It's nigh on impossible, isn't it?

It was my fault, entirely - I didn't spend the time to grab the statutes. Mea culpa!

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Quoting Dogmatique

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It's nigh on impossible, isn't it?

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With 50 states, DC, and the possessions and territories and given that the way each of them organizes their criminal laws I can understand its a pretty big task to gather up all the relevant statutes, analyze them, and them accurately summarize them. Then there is the added effort of keeping track of any changes. So I’m not surprised that web sites (at least free sites) have difficulty with it. I’ve become very cautious about information I get on the internet, especially when it comes to medicine, finance, and law because its so easy to end up coming across bad, misleading, incomplete, or outdated info. When you can find truly good authoritative sites it’s like finding gold in a sea of iron pyrite :D

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Quoting Taxing Matters

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I’ve noticed disparities in info on various age of consent sites where the information was either out-dated, incomplete, or just wrong. So I look to the actual statutes to see what the deal is. I wish there was a truly authoritative site with this information on it that is kept current but so far I’ve not found one that I trust.

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I think the semi-official position of this board is that if you're asking whether it's legal to have sex where one or more partners is a minor, you should consult a lawyer in your state.

The research I have done on my own has been extremely unhelpful as well, which is why I chose to post and ask here. I've read conflicting info on several sites and I'm still not clear on what is correct. I am going to hold off on making a report with the appropriate authorities until after my family court hearing is over and I've had a chance to talk with my lawyer about that. I may not make a report at all.